Set up a maneuverability course with cones

Ohio's driving test has two parts, and the maneuverability part is the one you can build in a parking lot. The BMV publishes the course: a 9-foot by 20-foot box of four markers and a center marker, one drive forward and one in reverse. Our maneuverability guide explains the test and how it is scored. This is the practice session.

You need five markers that will not hurt the car if you touch them (cones, or anything soft and visible), a tape measure, and a lot with no traffic. Thirty minutes a week for a month is plenty.

Set out the box

Four markers form a box 9 feet wide and 20 feet long. The state measures from the center of each marker, so put the tape on the middle of the cone, not its edge. Check the diagonals: if both are the same length, the box is square.

The fifth marker is the center marker. It stands past the far end of the box, in line with its middle. The BMV's page does not publish its distance from the box; for practice, set it about a car length past the box, so there is room to stop with your rear bumper even with it, and ask your instructor to show you the spacing they teach.

Mark the start: a line on the pavement a car length or two before the box, where the car sits straight and centered before step one.

Drill one: forward around the center marker

Drive forward through the box. The examiner tells you whether to steer right or left of the center marker; in practice, have the person with you call it as you reach the box. Steer around the marker on that side, straighten, and stop when the rear bumper is even with the center marker and the car is generally parallel with the course (BMV, Driving and Skills Test).

Two things to practice here: a gentle, early turn so the car clears the marker without swinging wide, and knowing where your rear bumper is. Have your helper stand level with the center marker and raise a hand when your bumper reaches it, until you can feel the spot without help.

Drill two: back through the box

From the stop at the end of step one, back past the center marker on the same side, straighten the car, and continue in reverse through the box, stopping with the front bumper even with the two rear markers and the car generally parallel with the course.

Reverse is the harder half. Go slowly enough that you could stop at any moment. Turn your head and look where the car is going, with a glance at the mirrors for the markers beside you. Small steering inputs: the car answers the wheel differently in reverse, and a big correction is what sends a bumper into a marker.

Then drive out of the course without touching anything. The test is not over until the car has left the area.

Run it until five in a row are clean

The maneuverability guide goes through what the examiner deducts for and what ends the test on the spot; in short, a bumped marker costs points and a marker run over or knocked down ends the test (Ohio Driver Manual, section 11). So in practice, treat a bump as a fail. Set the markers back exactly, and run it again.

Count clean runs in a row. One is luck, three is progress, five is ready. Write the count down after each session and watch it climb over the month.

The car matters

Practice in the car you will test in. Every car has a different turning circle and a different view over the hood, and the feel for where the rear bumper is does not transfer.

If you will test in one of ours, book a session on the course first. Our Road Test Car + Practice package provides the car for the test and a warm-up on the roads around your exam station; a driving lesson before it can be spent entirely on the box. The road test guide covers the other half of the day, the drive on the road.

Where this comes from

Every rule in this note was read on the State of Ohio's own pages on November 1, 2026. If a page changes, the page wins; check it before you rely on a date or a number.

• Ohio BMV: temporary permits and driver licenses (bmv.ohio.gov)
• Ohio Driver Manual, section 11: taking the driving test (publicsafety.ohio.gov)